Hatchet scabbard



April 28, 1934 L. J. MacKooL 3,130,883

HATCHET SCABBARD Filed March 1, 1962 INVENTOR Zewz's J Maclwl BY. fla gATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,130,883 HATfiEET CABEARD Lewis J.MacKool, 16139 Cnmheriand St, Little Rock, Ark. FiledMar. 1, 192,Ser.No. 176,559 -3 Claims. (*Ji. 224-4) This invent-ion'relates generally toa hatchet scabbard adapted to be worn on the users person and to containa conventional hatchet of the type commonly used by woodsmen, outdoorsmen and the like. More particularly, the invention relates to a novelbelt-mounted hatcet scabbard wherein the hatchet is secured in invertedposition with its handle readily accessible to the user and whereinmeans are provided for receiving at least one other tool.

Belt-mounted hatchet scabbards are well known in the art, but in theconventional models the sheath per se is directly afiixed to the belt sothat the blade portion of the hatchet is uppermost, being disposed atwaist level. To release the hatchet for use a variety of flaps must beunsnapped and folded away, the hatchet must be grasped at the blade endand drawn upwardly toward the users shoulder until the bottom of thehandle emerges through an opening in the bottom of the scabbard.Furthermore, no means are provided to prevent the lowermost portion ofthe hatchet from moving about freely when the hatchet is housed in thescabbard, and no means are provided for receiving supplementary tools.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to providea hatchet scabbard adapted to retain the hatchet firmly in position onthe users person and one in which the hatchet is readily accessible andreleasable for use.

Another object is to provide a hatchet scabbard including means forreceiving supplementary tools.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a hatchet scabbardof the type described which may be conveniently and quickly mounted orremoved from the users person.

Another object is to provide a hatchet scabbard which is attractive inappearance, durable in use and economical to manufacture.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent in the followingdescription when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of the hatchet scabbard illustratingcahatchet and a second tool received therein and illustrating the scabbarditself as being installed on a users person, the latter being partiallyshown in phantom lines.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2-Z of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a front elevation illustrating a modified form of the scabbardshown in FIG. 1.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, the hatchet scabbard ofthe present invention is indicated generally by numeral 1 and includesan upwardly open socket portion or sheath 3 at the lower end thereof anda belt-attaching loop 4 at the upper end thereof.

The sheath 3 may be formed of a single sheet of leather or the like,including an inner wall portion 5 terminating at its lower end in anoutwardly extending bottom wall portion 7, which is in turn foldedupwardly to form an outer wall 9. The rear edges of the inner and outerwalls 5 and 9, respectively, are secured together as by stitching 11and/ or rivets 13 to close the socket at the rear. Overlapping flaps 15and 17, extending from the walls 5 and 7 at the front edges thereof, aresecured together by rivets 19 or the like to close the socket at thefront thereof. It will be understood that the various wall portions ofthe sheath 3 will be dimensioned so as to snugly receive a hatchet headof conventional design or any particular hatchet of different design asmight be intended.

A'leather thong 21 or the like is attached to the back 'well '5 as bypassing into and out of the socket through adjacent horizontally alignedopenings in the back wall. A safety strap 23 may be secured, as bystitching, to the inner surface ofinner Wall 5 and is positioned toextend over the open upper end of socket 3, adjacently forward theextremity thereof, and be secured by a snap means 25 or the like totheouter face of outer wall A leather sheet portion 27 may be stitchedalong its upper, forward and lower edges to the outside face of outerwall 9 to provide a rearwardly open tool-receivingpocket. As illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet 27 is elongated in configuration and may bepre-shaped with a bulge to snugly receive a jacknife 29 or the like. Asecond safety strap 31 is secured at one end thereof on the rearwardportion of the inside face of wall 5 and extends across the rearwardlydisposed opening of the pocket to be removably secured on the outsideface of sheet 27, as by snap means 33.

A leather strap 35 is secured at its lower end by stitching or the liketo the inside face of inner wall 5 and extends upwardly for a distanceapproximately equal to the hatchet handle which is intended to becarried. At its upper end strap 35 includes a return portion 37 attachedat its lower extremity to the back of strap 35 by means of rivets 39 orthe like, to form the belt-encircling loop 4. Strap 35 should be ofgreater width than the hatchet handle to provide a buffer between thehandle and the users thigh. A securing strap 41 is attached intermediateits ends to the outer face of strap 35 and is adapted to encircle thehatchet blade handle, with the ends of strap 41 being releasablyinterconnected by snap means 43 or the like.

The alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 incorporates the samebasic components as that of FIGS. 1 and 2 with the exception that thepocket defined by sheet portion 27 is not employed, nor is theassociated safety strap 31. Otherwise similar elements have been giventhe identical numerals as those associated with FIGS. 1 and 2 and willnot be described again in detail here. The embodiment of FIG. 3incorporates a strap portion 35a which is integral with, and disposedrearwardly of, strap 35. A vertically directed, upwardly open pocket isprovided on the front face of strap portion 35a to accommodate the blade44 of a conventional hunting knife 45 or the like. As Will be seen fromthe drawings, the lower portion of this pocket is disposed between thesheet portion 35a and the inner wall 5 of sheath 3. A safety strap 46,similar in construction and mounting to the strap 41, is provided toencircle the handle 47 of knife 45 and secure the knife in sheathedposition.

In either embodiment it will be readily understood that the hatchet 49can be conveniently positioned in the scabbard 1 by inserting its head51 into the open upper end of the sheath or socket 3, the head beingsecured by strap 23 passing across its forward extremity and secured bysnap means 25. The handle 53 of the hatchet is firmly retained along thelength of strap 35 by means of safety strap 41. The scabbard 1, with orwithout the hatchet 49, is secured on the person of the user by passingthe users belt 55 through loop 4 and securing the thong 21 about histhigh. Removal of the scabbard 1 and removal of the hatchet 49 from thescabbard can be quickly and conveniently accomplished by the reverseprocedure, and it should be particularly noted that when the hatchet isinstalled in the scabbard on the users hip, the handle 53 thereof isdirectly accessible and may be grasped and removed in a single motion.

Numerous changes may be made in the material, the details ofconstruction and the arrangement of elements without departing from thespirit of the invention or the scope of the annexed claims.

I claim:

1. A hatchet Scabbard, comprising: a sheath having inner and outersheathing walls secured together along at least one side edge thereofdefining an elongated openingat the upper end thereof of sufficient sizeto receive the head of an inverted hatchet, and further defining asubstantially horizontal bottom adapted to underlie and support saidhead; a strap extending upwardly from said sheath and adapted to bedisposed vertically along a users hip; belt attaching means at the upperend of said strap; and means for removably retaining the hatchet handleagainst the outer surface of said strap; means attached to said sheathfor securing said sheath to the thigh of the user; and means secured tosaid Scabbard for removably retaining a slender implement.

4 2. A hatchet Scabbard defined in claim 1 wherein said implementretaining means is secured to said sheath.

3. A hatchet Scabbard defined in claim 1 wherein said implementretaining means is secured to said strap.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,605,195 Lewis Nov. 2, 1926 1,633,319 Estwing June 21, 1927 2,536,252Bates Jan. 2, 1951 2,956,715 Henderson Oct. 18, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS1,077,958 France May 5, 1954 1,208,702 France Sept. 14, 1959

1. A HATCHET SCABBARD, COMPRISING: A SHEATH HAVING INNER AND OUTERSHEATHING WALLS SECURED TOGETHER ALONG AT LEAST ONE SIDE EDGE THEREOFDEFINING AN ELONGATED OPENING AT THE UPPER END THEREOF OF SUFFICIENTSIZE TO RECEIVE THE HEAD OF AN INVERTED HATCHET, AND FURTHER DEFINING ASUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL BOTTOM ADAPTED TO UNDERLIE AND SUPPORT SAIDHEAD; A STRAP EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM SAID SHEATH AND ADAPTED TO BEDISPOSED VERTICALLY ALONG A USER''S HIP; BELT ATTACHING MEANS AT THEUPPER END OF SAID STRAP; AND MEANS FOR REMOVABLY RETAINING THE HATCHETHANDLE AGAINST THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID STRAP; MEANS ATTACHED TO SAIDSHEATH FOR SECURING SAID SHEATH TO THE THIGH OF THE USER; AND MEANSSECURED TO SAID SCABBARD FOR REMOVABLY RETAINING A SLENDER IMPLEMENT.